We’ll open up the televised prelims with New York’s own Al Iaquinta (7-2-1) doing battle with UFC newcomer Kevin Lee (7-0).

Iaquinta, a former runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter, has won two straight decisions since a loss to Michael Chiesa in the finals of TUF. Lee enters from a regional circuit where he won four straight by submission.

Round 1: Iaquinta is on fire, dropping Lee with a nasty right hand. Another, and Lee gets to his feet but eats another right. Lee is hurt, but Iaquinta is unable to finish him yet. Chris Weidman, a training partner of Iaquinta’s, is freaking out cageside, but Lee appears to have recovered. Those were some of the biggest strikes I’ve seen from Iaquinta, who now has a heel hook locked in. Iaquinta is attempting to lock his hands with plenty of time left in the round. Lee is trying to stand and break the hold, which he does. Iaquinta tries for the leg again, but Lee winds up on his back. Lee is a submission specialist, but he’s unable to lock his hands and attempt anything. A knee lands from Lee and they separate. Smooth left from Lee gets through the defense of Iaquinta, who answers back with his own left.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Iaquinta

Round 2: Lee takes the back and is working hard for a rear-naked choke. Iaquinta is trying to work the break the hands apart of Lee, but he has a body lock secured with over three minutes to go. Iaquinta is struggling to stay in it, working to slip out, which he does – much to the delight of the crowd. Lee still has a body triangle locked in, but he has avoided the choke – for now. Lee has maintained the body lock for two minutes, wearing on Iaquinta and looking to secure another rear-naked. As strong as Iaquinta was in the first, Lee has been equally strong here in the second.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Lee

Round 3: Like the first, Iaquinta starts off with a strike that hurts Lee. Iaquinta can sense the damage was done, looking to land another. Lee, though, fires back and has him backing up now. Heel hook attempt by Iaquinta, but Lee winds up in half-guard. Smooth transition by the two and they wind up back on the feet. Iaquinta has a lot of blood coming from his nose area, while Lee has a little of the crimson coming out. Iaquinta catches him and lands a nice right, working back to control the head and fend off a takedown attempt. Under two minutes to go and this could really decide the winner. Lee with a left, but Iaquinta stuff the seventh takedown attempt thrown at him. Another right by Lee and more blood flows from the face of the New Yorker. Both men go down swinging to end it, as the crowd reacts strongly.

Talk about a rude welcoming, Tom Watson (16-6) will be greeted with a thunderous ovation of booing as he takes on New Jersey’s own Nick Catone (9-4) next.

Catone, born and raised in Brick Township, is in need of a victory after back-to-back losses by finish to TJ Waldburger and Chris Camozzi. Watson is just 1-2 since joining the UFC from England and the BAMMA promotion, where he was the middleweight champion.

Round 1: Catone looking to give the crowd a reason to get loud, looking for the knockout punch early and often. Watson seems content with this being a stand up battle, firing back. Watson with a kick to the body that lands, but Catone just slips out of getting hit by the full force of the attack. Catone scores with a takedown and the crowd voices its approval. Watson trying to cage-walk, but Catone is showing his wrestling power by dragging him back down each time.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Catone

Round 2: Watson doing a better job mixing his strikes this round, kicking and punching in bunches. Watson cutting off the cage, trapping Catone up against it. Nice left head kick thrown by the Brit is partially blocked. Here comes Catone, putting his strikes together and backing Watson up. As we go under two minutes, Catone scores with a takedown. Watson is a bloody mess and we head to the final five minutes.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Catone

Round 3: Watson throwing some big-time kicks to start the round, and Catone catches an accidental eye poke. Not much of a break and we are quickly back to the action. Catone with a solid uppercut and one more takedown. Watson has about 90 seconds and he comes storming after Catone. This could be an interesting fight to hear scored, as Watson lands more kicks but Catone answers with another takedown. The New Jersey fighter takes the back and is working to secure a choke and take this out of the hands of the judges.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Catone

Nick Catone def. Tom Watson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Chris Cariaso vs. Danny Martinez

Our first of two flyweight bouts is next, as Chris Cariaso (15-5) meets up with Danny Martinez (16-4).

Cariaso is coming off a much-needed victory over Iliarde Santos last October, snapping a two-fight losing skid. Martinez is replacing Kyoji Horiguchi and is making his Octagon debut.

Round 1: Martinez, who handed out shirts that said down to bullying at the weigh-ins, comes right out after Cariaso. He has him pushed up against the fence and is searching for the takedown. Martinez, unable to get it, took this fight on just two weeks notice, and eats a pair of nasty kicks to the body. Martinez lands a nice combo, and Cariaso answers back. A right from in close by Martinez pops Cariaso’s eyes wide open, but he’s good to go. Martinez gets a takedown as we head under a minute to go.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Martinez

Round 2: Martinez coming out with nice, strong strikes that are keeping Cariaso at bay. He’s doing a great job of mixing levels and showing strong skills, but Cariaso has plenty of power and answers. Cariaso has now taken control of this round, as Martinez appears to be tired. He lands a nice left and comes in with a takedown, but Cariaso has kept himself upright so far. Two minutes to go in the round. Martinez lands a takedown that could steal him this round.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Cariaso

Round 3: Here we go, and it’s Martinez getting the better of this one early in the round. However, he has little left in his punches, as you can tell he’s used up most of his energy. Nice job by Martinez to throw a couple of strikes and go for a takedown, grinding on Cariaso and keeping him from throwing anything with much power. Cariaso comes in close and lands a right left, circling away. He might need to do more here in the last minute, but you never know.

We’ll conclude the prelims with another lightweight tilt, as John Makdessi (12-2) takes on Alan Patrick (11-0).

Makdessi is 5-2 since joining the UFC in 2012, while Patrick won his Octagon debut last year by first round TKO over Garett Whiteley.

Round 1: A touch of gloves, including Patrick trying to tap Makdessi’s head, to start. These two looked intense at weigh-ins. Patrick pushes him up against the cage, but Makdessi survives the attempted takedown. Patrick shoots and gets denied on the takedown attempt. Huge spinning backfist misses by Patrick. As we go under a minute, Patrick gets his takedown.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Patrick

Round 2: Nice combo from Patrick lands to start the round, as Makdessi has avoided five takedowns in six attempts through one round. This time, Patrick goes through Makdessi and lands a takedown. Quickly, though, Makdessi gets to his feet. No further damage done on his conversion.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Makdessi

Round 3: Patrick has to feel like he is behind on the scorecards, so it will be interesting to see if he goes for the finish. Some swelling on Makdessi’s face courtesy of a nice shot by Patrick connecting. Huge left hand just misses by Patrick, but a second does not. We go under two minutes, Patrick is limping after a slip. Makdessi catches him coming in, and it looks like Patrick is hurt. Nice left by Patrick, who follows up by bum-rushing into Makdessi and attempting a takedown. Again, he’s denied the takedown.

We kick-start the main card with lightweight action, as Jamie Varner (21-8-1) takes on Abel Trujillo (11-5).

Varner is stepping in for Bobby Green, who was forced out with an injury. Since returning to the UFC in 2012, the ex-WEC champion has gone 2-2, including a recent split decision loss to Gleison Tibau.

Trujillo is coming off a TKO victory over Roger Bowling in 2013. Earlier in the year, he fought Bowling to a no-contest.

Round 1: We’ve had a lot of decisions, but this could change all that. Trujillo is throwing heavy, heavy shots, and Varner is backing up. Huge left lands by Trujillo. Varner’s rocking the Frank Mir haircut, and he scores a nice takedown off an overly-active Trujillo. Quickly to the back goes Varner with plenty of time to work. Varner has the north-south choke and is working for it. Trujillo’s face is turning all kinds of red, but he signals that he’s fine with a thumbs-up. Over a minute left and Trujillo is fighting it off. Varner releases and loses position completely. Nice left catches Trujillo, but he answers back.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Varner

Round 2: Varner said his right arm was tired after working that choke for several minutes. That could hinder him if this goes back to a striking affair. Nice knee kick by Varner lands. Twice Varner catches Trujillo, but he answers back and nearly floors Varner. Denied on a takedown attempt is Varner, who catches Trujillo along the cage and pounces. Several shots by Varner to a downed opponent, as he goes with hammerfists by locking up the left arm. To the back goes Varner and heis unloading. An old-fashioned slufgfest and the crowd rises to their feet. Big knees to the body from Varner, and Trujillo counters. Out of nowhere, Trujillo lands with a right and Varner goes face-first into the canvas. I know we’ve got some great bouts coming up, but that is going to be tough to top for “Fight of the Night.”

We head to the flyweight ranks, as John Lineker (23-6) and Ali Bagautinov (12-2) try to become the next contender to the title.

Lineker, thankfully, made weight after initially missing the 125-pound mark. He has won four straight inside the Octagon, including three TKO wins in 2013, but missed weight in two of those wins.

Bagautinov is unbeaten with the UFC, defeating Tim Elliott and Marcos Vinicius last year.

Round 1: That didn’t take long, as Bagautinov scores with a takedown just seconds into the contest. Lineker is in the domain of Bagautinov on the canvas, especially at this stage of the action. Lineker locks up the heel, and Bagautinov does the same. We have a tie and Lineker releases. Bagautinov drops down with a heel hook again with two minutes to go. Lineker gets free and back to his feet. Big takedown by Bagautinov scores.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Bagautinov

Round 2: Lineker is loading up with the right hand, which could leave him exposed for a takedown. Nice knee to the body by Bagautinov after he is denied on a takedown. Lineker catches him coming in this time with a solid shot. Bagautinov circling away, and he could be trying to wear Lineker out. Remember, Lineker had a tough weight cut and was trimming down as weigh-ins went down – and following after missing weight. Nice exchange by these two and Lineker catches him again. Bagautinov gets in and lands a left, but eats a body shot that did damage. Takedown attempt by Bagautinov, but he is denied once more. Lineker is winning the stand up and has denied every takedown attempt so far.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Lineker

Round 3: Bagautinov comes out and shows his wrestling power, scoring two straight takedowns after being denied six times in the second round. Lineker, though, has a potential kimura as we approach the three-minute mark of the final round. Bagautinov denies it and is back in control. Two more takedowns this round for Bagautinov, who celebrates as the clock winds down and Lineker has no chance.

Our next bout features two men who are familiar with being in the main event role, as former champions Frank Mir (16-8) and Alistair Overeem (36-13) collide.

Mir has dropped three in a row, including two knockout losses to Junior dos Santos and Josh Barnett. The former UFC champion is 14-8 in 22 Octagon appearances.

Overeem is on a similar slide, having lost back-to-back fights vs. Travis Browne and Antonio Silva. Both times, the ex-Strikeforce champ was in control, only to lose the contest by knockout.

Round 1: Both men seemed emotional coming to the Octagon, and they touch gloves to start. Overeem with some nice shots to the body, and Mir responds by touching his chin. Overeem catches him and has him against the fence, landing a nice knee. Overhand left knocks Mir off his feet for a brief moment. They tie up and a knee to the body hurts Mir, who is going down. Overeem lands again and pounces, catching Mir on his back and delivering several elbows. He has Mir’s arm trapped behind his head and unloads. Mir trying to get his arm back to defend himself but Overeem is teeing off now. Big knee to the chest and another to the body. Mir gets to his feet and the crowd greets him. Incredible that he survived, and maybe he should have been let go longer vs. Josh Barnett last year. Mir is up, but his face looks worse for wear. Overeem appears to have learned from his mistakes, as he is not tired or breathing heavily. Mir drops down for a leg lock and winds up with Overeem on top of him as we go under a minute. Overeem landing with big rights to the face.

FightLine scores the round 10-8 for Overeem

Round 2: Mir may have slipped early, and Overeem avoided going in and getting caught. Mir, though, fires off after Overeem and gets him down, looking for a potential guillotine. Overeem falls, but Mir grabs the head again and cranks. He gets out of position and Overeem reverses to the top position, landing some elbows for good measure. Mir’s face is a bloody mess, especially from the right eye area. Vicious elbow gets through to Mir’s face as we approach the minute mark in the round. Mir tried to role into something, but Overeem noticed and just stood up.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Overeem

Round 3: Mir comes out striking, but Overeem just backs away and re-positions. He drops down again into guard with four minutes to go. Mir’s got to catch an arm, leg or neck here, and Overeem knows that, standing up and moving away. Mir drops down again and eats a stiff jab for that decision, with Overeem moving to half-guard. Smart, efficient fight for Overeem, who is up 120-9 in ground total strikes and 111-3 in ground strikes; just incredible numbers. Overeem’s had enough of the ground-and-pound, standing up and walking away to let Mir get up. We have a minute left and Mir’s face is a crimson mask.

Our first of two world title matches will feature UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (23-1) facing off against Ricardo Lamas (13-2).

Since coming over from the WEC, Aldo has done nothing but take out each and every opponent the UFC has paired him up against. He owns wins over the likes of Urijah Faber, Frankie Edgar, Kenny Florian and Chad Mendes during his career.

Lamas is a perfect 4-0 inside the Octagon, including finishes over Erik Koch and Cub Swanson. His only losses have been of the knockout variety to Yuri Alcantara and Danny Castillo while competing in the WEC.

Round 1: A very pro-Brazilian crowd, as Aldo receives a large ovation. Weird to see him in the co-main while teammate Renan Barao is in the main event tonight. Lamas comes out with some leg kicks of his own, the biggest offensive move of Aldo’s arsenal. Aldo with a left, and Lamas checks the kick. So far, not many leg kicks by Aldo. Aldo fires off a nice three-strike combo that connects. He appears to be getting the timing down of Lamas, which is not a good thing for the challenger. Aldo catches a kick and trips Lamas down, but avoids much damage.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Aldo

Round 2: It appeared as if Aldo was getting into a groove at the end of round one, so let’s see if Lamas does something different. Front kick lands by Aldo, stopping Lamas in his tracks. Big kick connects with a thud. Straight right by Aldo. Lamas just appears to be a step slower than Aldo. More leg kicks by Aldo, who is starting to turn it up and really attack with power and quickness.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Aldo

Round 3: Just vicious attacks by Aldo, who has Lamas retreating after several strikes. Not sure what Lamas can do that will hurt Aldo at this point. Lamas throws up a head kick, but it gets brushed off. Aldo drops and comes over the top with a nice left-counter. Each time Aldo connects, it’s with so much power and force, you have to wonder how Lamas is still standing. Lamas with a nice right and he appears to be gaining some momentum. Could Aldo be slowing? He cuts a lot of weight, and Lamas previously mentioned a desire to push this to the fifth.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Aldo

Round 4: Lamas goes for a takedown off the start, pushing Aldo up against the fence. He picks up Aldo, but is unable to get him down. Aldo now on top of Lamas, working to step over and possibly look for a submission. Aldo hasn’t scored a submission victory since 2005, and his only loss was via tap to a rear-naked choke at lightweight. He’s got the hooks in and is looking for a rear-naked, switching hands. He has it more of a crank right now, but has over a minute left. Lamas gets out with a nice butterfly and has Aldo up against the fence.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Aldo

Round 5: Lamas listened to his corner, coming out swinging for the fence. He gets pressed up against the cage and taken down. Lamas reverses and gets to the top position with two minutes to go. Is Aldo tired enough to allow Lamas to slip? Lamas lands with a nice shot, but Aldo ties him up to avoid any further damage. Lamas’ corner is right there, telling him to go all out. Elbow slips through, a glancing blow at best. Couple of slashing elbows land, as does a right hand, but Aldo is controlling the posture and protecting himself.

It’s time for the main event, as Renan Barao (31-1) puts us UFC bantamweight title on the line against Urijah Faber (30-6). These two met back in 2012, with Barao becoming the interim champion with a decision victory.

Since that time, Faber has finished Ivan Menjivar, Scott Jorgensen and Michael McDonald to earn another crack at the Brazilian.

Originally, Barao was to face Dominick Cruz to unify the belts, but Cruz suffered a groin injury and was forced out. The UFC stripped him of the title and awarded it to Barao.

Round 1: Here we go. These two had another intense staredown, something they’ve done all week. Big overhand right by Faber, and another, much to the delight of the crowd – which now appears to be pro-American after cheering Jose Aldo greatly just moments ago. They both throw kicks, but Barao gets the better of it. Fake the left and land the right works for Faber. Barao takes him down and pounces, firing away from the top. Faber survives and gets to his feet, but gets it again. Barao swarms and is teeing off. Faber ties him up and lands a knee. We have a war, baby. Faber is bouncing around now, but gets caught again. He tries to grab a leg, which he does, and Faber is protesting the stoppage. Barao looked up after landing a serious of shots, but none of them appeared to be doing any damage. Faber is in complete shock by the stoppage, but still congratulates Barao.